I Had A Little Nut Tree
by frecklesglasses
Summary: A muggle gardener discovers magic the hard way.


**Hey guys! Same rules for reviewing as the last story!**

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**This is for** **Anka7995****'s ****Nursery Rhymes Inspiration Challenge/Competition.**

**Prompt: _I Had A Little Nut Tree, _by unknown author:**

_**I had a little nut tree,  
Nothing would it bear  
But a silver nutmeg  
And a golden pear;**_

_**The King of Spain's daughter**_  
_**Came to visit me,**_  
_**And all for the sake**_  
_**Of my little nut tree.**_

_**Her dress was made of crimson,**_  
_**Jet black was her hair,**_  
_**She asked me for my nutmeg**_  
_**And my golden pear.**_

_**I said, "So fair a princess**_  
_**Never did I see,**_  
_**I'll give you all the fruit**_  
_**From my little nut tree.**_

**Optional added verse:**

_**I danced o'er the water,  
I danced o'er the sea,  
And all the birds in the air,  
Couldn't catch me**_

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I had a little nut tree.

I took care of it by the ocean.

On this day, I tended it like any other day.

'Twas no ordinary tree. It bore two fruits, and two fruits only. One was a silver nutmeg; the other a golden pear.

Never had it occurred to me to eat them. Nay, instead they held me in a sort of trance. I only could water it daily, watching the fruits grow bigger and shine brighter, mesmerized.

This day particularly, I was staring in awe at my tree when I was startled out of my trance by someone's presence. Ugly, she was, with a blood-stained dress and unruly black hair. Everything about her was crooked.

Still, I am a courteous man, and when she offered water, I accepted it and drank it. The water was both revolting and sickeningly delicious in a deathly combination. I wanted, no, _needed_ more or I would die.

Just as quickly as it came, the feeling was gone, a new one in it's place. No longer did I need the water, but I needed _her._ I was in love. Looking up, I found myself gazing hungrily at her immense beauty.

She then introduced herself as the king of Spain's daughter, and I found myself mumbling lovingly, "Of course you are."

Her eyes had an even hungrier look than my own, but their attention was not on me. She focused only on the tree, silently, until her voice, like a song, rang melodious throughout the air.

"Fine sir," she announced while I blushed at her 'compliment', "I only have one simple request." I was nodding in agreement before she even finished.

Suddenly, her voice became shrill, uncontainable longing creating an edge to it. I was jarred between two realities: undying devotion and pure horror. Her voice played two songs in my mind, now.

"Yes!" she suddenly shrieked. I jumped inside my skin. "YES! I _MUST _have your _beautiful_ fruits to appease my master!"

She caressed my face, sending electric jolts through my body. I only nodded, again.

"The silver nutmeg to grant him power beyond recognition, and the gold pear to render him_ immortal_!"

Still avoiding eye contact, she circled me slowly, then faster, she observed my puzzled countenance from the corner of her eye.. "Oh, you didn't know your _precious tree _was _magic_, now did you? Did you!" she shrieked even louder. "Why do you think it only bore you two fruits, darling? But it doesn't matter anymore, dear, because now your precious fruits are MINE!" She cackled furiously, louder and louder.

I was almost fully revived now, the noise was too deafening for me to bear.

Then she turned, and her dark eyes finally settled into mine. All awareness was lost inside my love.

Lowering her voice, she whispered to me: "You, sir, are the only one who can retrieve them for me. It is the law of magic."

Her voice became even softer and, staring into my eyes, she whispered one more word, one that I did not understand. "Imperio."

My body jerked, and I became like a puppet, succumbing to her will.

I softly replied, in my own melody, overflowing with raw love, "So fair a princess never did I see. I'll give you all the fruit from my little nut tree."

According to her wishes, I turned and slowly plucked each fruit. Pivoting once more, my hand scraped against my trowel. I was painfully jolted back to reality. Upon seeing her horrid features once more, I turned and threw the fruits as far into the ocean as possible. A nearby pelican swooped by and gobbled them both at once.

The 'princess' turned on me suddenly, eyes flashing, and shrilly screamed another mysterious word. "CRUCIO!"

Incomprehensible pain raked my whole body, and my feet flew from underneath me. I was pushed over my railing, hanging in the air above the ocean.

Writhing, screaming, the world around me started to fade. I had one last thought: _I danced over the water and I danced over the sea, but all the birds in the air couldn't catch me. _Then it was all gone.

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**A/N: Explanation: Because this is written in first person of an original character, you might not understand what's going on. Sorry. :/ Basically, there's this random muggle gardener who has a magical tree, but he doesn't know it's magical. Bellatrix Lestrange finds out about it and realizes that if she gets this, Voldemort will be even more mega-powerful. So she finds the guy, and with a love potion (in the water) and a couple of spells, she almost gets him to get it for her. The reason she can't grab it herself is explained in the story. In the end, she doesn't get it, so she crucios the guy in her anger. In the end, this changes nothing in the book, so I'd call it canon. I'd say this happens somewhere before/during Marauder Era.**


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